How to Compress Video Files for the iPad

iTunes won’t transfer a few episodes of my favorite videos onto my iPad, even though I have enough free space. What might be the problem?

It’s likely that the file is too high-resolution, perhaps because it was created for an Apple TV. An iPad wants to play files that are in pretty specific video formats. iTunes will recognize and play video files outside those specs, so sometimes you’ll wind up with a file in your library that will play just fine within iTunes on your Mac but stubbornly refuse to sync to your device. Luckily, here are some compression fixes to cram all these enormous movies down to a size that will give you the space to transfer more video to iPad.

Compress Your Video for iPad with iTunes

Select the file in iTunes, and choose Advanced > Create iPad or Apple TV Version, and iTunes will make a new copy of the file in the correct format for syncing to your iPad. It’ll live alongside the incompatible file in iTunes, so if you keep both around and later forget which is which, go to File > Get Info on each of the files, and check out their filenames in the Where section of the Summary tab. The names should be similar, with the newer file ending in -1. Now just sync the new iPad-compatible file in the normal fashion and you’ll be enjoying lots of video on iPad in no time.

Compress Video for iPad with iPad Video Converter for Mac

If your video is in a highly compatible but large size format like AVI, iSkysoftiPad Video Converter for Mac lets you change the format to MP4. Besides converting your movie’s format with a click, you can easily optimize the video resolution to fit that iPad movie on your iPhone or iPod touch–from 1280×720 to 960×640 and so on. For control plus ease of use, this option is a standout.

So get out there and, while you’re on your trains, planes and automobiles, relax with more entertainment than ever now that you know how to cram more good stuff into your iPad this holiday!